Serbia's ultimate goal is the EU as the basis for a better life for the Serbian people, President Boris Tadic said in Prague on Tuesday receiving the prestigious Polak award for his contribution to democratic and economic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe.

Tadic received the award from President of the Fund for American Studies Roger Ream, who said Tadic was a leader focused on Europe and reforms in Serbia.

Ream mentioned Tadic's dissident past and decades of struggle for a modern and European Serbia.

The EU will not be complete until it accepts the countries of the Western Balkans as its members, Tadic noted.

There are some who think that the EU should stop taking in new members, because of the economic crisis, but the opposite is needed, because the best way to overcome the crisis is by completing the union by accepting new members, Tadic stressed.

Serbia has already fulfilled many of the requirements set by the EU and it now focuses on the fight against corruption and organized crime, he stated.

He commented on the situation in Kosovo, saying that he was extremely worried over the events in the north of the territory and adding that Serbia was willing to negotiate, but would not recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence in any way.